If you’re budget-conscious and staying where meals are not part of a prepaid or all-inclusive package, here are some hints. Doggy-bagging can save $25 or more per person per day.

After restaurant dining, wrap leftovers in paper napkins and stuff into pockets or handbags. The most useful for later eating are sandwiches, salads, chicken parts, breads, rolls, crackers, cakes, cookies and sealed mini-packs of butter, mayo and jelly.

They make nice midnight snacks and/or breakfasts the next morning. Enjoy them in your room before heading for the beach, casino, pool, hike or shopping. Otherwise, hotel sit-down restaurant breakfasts and tips usually cost $25 or more for two. Frugal doggy-bag couples can save as much as $280 in a week.

Of course, leaving a restaurant lugging leftovers may be a bit sneaky, but if you do it without fuss, there’s no trouble. Actually, most non-buffet eateries encourage diners to take out loaded doggy bags, often supplying plastic containers to retain freshness. It always works for your travel4seniors.com editor, except on one laughable occasion. We checked out of a casino resort, proud we'd saved money with free doggy bag breakfasts and midnight snacks for a week.

Then the front desk clerk said that because of our casino play, all meals at hotel restaurants during the just-ended week were comped, totally free! Well, at least we'd enjoyed the sneaky pleasures of doggy-bagging.